It's Not Much
by Nymphadora Potter
Summary: Walking to the bus stop after his latest job interview, R.J. Lupin notices a young boy running from a gang of bullies. Father/son
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is Nymphadora Potter, you may call me Nym or Dora. The other day, I suddenly had ten ideas for different fanfictions, and this is one of the results! I will have a list on my profile of all the stories and their status so feel free to check it out when it's up! Now, on with the show…err…. story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, nor do I claim to. That all belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling!

Mr. R.J. Lupin was walking to the bus stop near the park after his latest job interview. After being rejected in all the wizarding establishments because of his "furry little problem", he had decided to travel the muggle job circuit. His latest interview was at the Surrey drill firm, Grunnings, in sales. He knew he hadn't gotten the job, the look in the interviewer's eyes told him he clearly wasn't welcome here. He continued on, lost in thoughts of what to do next, when he was quite suddenly knocked out of his reverie by a young boy with a James-like shock of black hair. '_Stop thinking like that, you'll only make it worse.' _Lupin berated himself, for he was still crushed by the betrayal of his friends five years ago.

I-I-I'm s-sorry, sir. I-I wasn't looking wh-where I was g-g-going. P-P-Please don't tell m-my uncle, sir. I-I really am, s-sorry." The boy stammered out, looking dreadfully frightened, his eyes fixed pointedly at his feet.

"Hey, it's all right, don't worry about it." Lupin replied kindly. He looked up at me, grateful. _'His eyes are just like Lily's were. I wonder why he's so scared I'll tell his uncle.' _Before he could ask, however, a jeering shout rang through the quiet streets.

"Oi Potter! Scared, are you?" _'Potter? Could this really be Lily and James' son?'_

"Give up, Potter?"

The boy made to run, but Lupin grabbed him firmly by the shoulder and crouched down to ear level. The boy's green eyes looked to Lupin's amber in confusion. "Wait here for a second," he whispered, "I won't let them hurt you." He straightened up and put both hands protectively on the boy's shoulders.

"What are you three doing?" Lupin called, his voice light and casual.

"You don't want to bother with him, sir." The leader replied, his voice dripping with mock-politeness at the slightly shabby man before him.

"Yea, he's only Harry Potter, a freak." One of the others spat. _'It really is Lily and James' son, it has to be.'_

"There will be no need for that kind of language. Why don't you three run off and play somewhere else?" he replied calmly, though you could see something dangerous flash in his eyes if you looked close enough. The three turned tail and ran off to bully some other poor kid, clearly a bit frightened of the stranger. 

"Th-thank you, sir." Harry replied, looking greatly relieved, though slightly apprehensive.

"No problem, kid. Do they always act this way? Don't their parents stop them?"

"Stop them? Why should they? I'm just a freak."

Lupin was very concerned by this. No child should be treated bad enough to think that. "No Harry, you're not a freak, don't ever think that." Lupin reprimanded him gently. "Listen, do you- I mean would you like to come home with me? With a little luck, we might be able to get you away from you uncle for good." Harry stared at him, shock evident on his face. Lupin, reading his expression the wrong way, continued, "I mean, you don't have to. I don't know what I was thinking, really, you've only just met me, of course you don't want to leave your family for a complete stranger, forget I offered."

"No! Of course I'd love to go with you!" Harry almost yelled, frantic that his stupidity might have cost him the chance to get away from the Dursleys for good. "I just, well, I was really surprised you offered at all. You heard what Piers said, I'm just Harry Potter, a freak."

"Harry, listen to me, and listen well. You are not a freak, and you will not call yourself that." Lupin was angered that such a sweet child could be brought up to have that great of an inferiority complex.

"Yes, sir."

"Call me Moony or Remus, Harry."

"Yes,si-Remus." Harry corrected himself.

Lupin smiled at the young boy, "Shall we head to the bus stop then?"Harry nodded enthusiastically. Chuckling at the young boy's antics, Lupin remembered something. "Oh, and Harry?"

"Yea?"

"Happy birthday."

I can't tell you how often I'll be updating, because I generally can't focus on just story, so I probably will be working on all ten of them. I'll try not to take too long between updates, but I can't really control my ideas (well….I don't really want to control them either.) Please review, it makes me feel good about myself, *cough I mean it makes me want to write more cough* I'll reply to all reviews, so feel free to leave me questions, concerns, comments, ideas (though I may not use them), thoughts, cookies, anything really. I'd rather you didn't flame, but if you must, just remember I've disabled anonymous reviews, so you have to sign it. I'm sorry if this creates an inconvenience, but really, it only takes two seconds to sign in, and five to create an account, and then all you fanfiction things are neatly organized and pretty! Thanks ~N. Potter


	2. Chapter 2

Wotcher everyone! I hope you all are well, and haven't given up on this story in the time it took me to get this out. I want to thank all my wonderful reviewers and the people who put me on their favorites and alert lists, you guys made my month! I also have to thank my wonderful beta Melethril for all her hard work, give her a hand guys! Well, here's the chapter, I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I am quite sure that I am neither rich nor famous, so I'm obviously not J.K. Rowling. I'm not making any money off of this story; I am doing it for the enjoyment of writing.

Lupin watched Harry the entire way to the bus stop, wondering when the child would come to his senses and bolt. '_Not that I want him to, really, but even the three bullies were afraid of me. What was I thinking? I can't just take a kid away from his family, I don't know what's gotten into me.' _Lupin examined Harry closely, trying to find a reason to justify his peculiar actions. _'Well, he is rather small and skinny for his age, looking more like four than six. And he's squinting as if he needs glasses. I wonder if his eyesight's ever been tested…?'_

"Harry, do you normally wear glasses?" Harry shook his head in a vigorous no. "Has you family ever taken you to get your vision tested?" Lupin pushed, but was denied again. '_Well, I suppose that answers my question, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's being mistreated. There's a fading bruise on his upper arm that looks like it might be a handprint, but it's hard to tell with his shirt covering it. I'll have to examine it later.'_ He looked back towards the child, who was fidgeting and bouncing about as they walked. _'He looks antsy, like he has a question he doesn't know if he should ask.'_

"You can ask me anything you want, you know. I wouldn't mind the company on the ride," he remarked as they got on the bus and found a seat near the back.

"Really?" '_Merlin! Why does the child sound so surprised?' _"Only, my aunt and uncle normally don't let me ask questions." _'Not ask questions? How is he to learn anything?'_

"You may ask me anything you like." Lupin confirmed gently.

"Why did you tell me happy birthday?"

"Is it not your birthday?" He asked, bemused.

"No, it is." Harry replied, not sounding particularly excited about the fact. "But how did you know?"

_'Of all the questions…. Now, how do I explain this without revealing too much? I have a feeling he doesn't know about our world at all, and this probably isn't the best place for explaining.' _He thought, looking at all the muggles on the bus. He could have taken the Knight Bus, but he didn't find it an altogether pleasant experience, and apparating in a muggle town was strictly out of the question. Others may do it without a problem, but the ministry's anti-werewolf regime forced him to abide by every whim of the ministry, lest he be placed in Azkaban. "You see, Harry, I knew your parents from when we were in school together, and I knew you when you were just a baby."

"You knew my mom and dad?" he asked incredulously.

"They were some of my best friends. Would you like to see some photos? I have quite a few in an old album somewhere. I'm sure you've seen most of them, though there are a few from their wedding that I'm fairly sure I own the last remaining copy of."

"No, I haven't seen any, any at all. Aunt 'Tunia doesn't like my mum. She won't talk about her, and she smacks me if I bring up my parents at all." He replied matter-of-factly. Lupin nearly let out a sigh of relief. This surely was a good enough excuse to intervene. He decided to send a patronus to Dumbledore, asking to meet up with him later, though when he'd be able to send it he wasn't sure. Before he could think about it anymore, Harry decided to continue with the questioning, looking nervous, but rather excited to be able to ask questions as much as he pleased.

"Why did you say I could call you Moony?" he asked, looking honestly curious.

Lupin smiled fondly at the small child, and explained, "That's what your father used to call me. In fact, you once called me 'Unca Mooey.' I thought that you might want to use that instead of my given name, since you had before, though I expect that you would have the proper pronunciation down now, I'm not a cow." He grinned to show he was just joking, and Harry shyly grinned back.

"Did my dad have a nickname too?"

"Yes, he was Prongs. He loved stags, so we named him after their defining feature."

"Their... what…?" Lupin had momentarily forgotten that he was, in fact, talking to a six-year-old, albeit a rather intelligent six-year-old.

"A stag has rather large antlers, no? The tip of the antlers, or prongs, is what we named him after."

"Okay…" responded Harry, still looking a bit confused. "But why were you Moony then?"

Lupin grimaced a bit, but answered in the same kind tone he had been using. "My animal was the wolf, so they called me after the moon the wolf howls at." He hoped the child wouldn't notice his slip, and sure enough he looked over it. "Along with two others, your dad and I made up The Marauders, our school's biggest mischief makers." The child looked incredulously up at him, obviously not believing that he could ever have played a prank.

"Stop fifteen," came the bus driver's bored drawl.

"Merlin, Harry, that's us. Come on prongslet." After the bus pulled away, Lupin swiftly bent down and slung Harry onto his back. Harry instinctively clasped his arms and legs around him in a choke hold.

"Oi!" he cried out in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you a ride to my house, of course. It's a bit of a walk." _'Though I would normally just apparate to my doorstep once the bus was gone. I haven't actually walked it in quite a while.' _There were a few benefits to living in a mostly wizarding village. Since everyone here was either a wizard, a squib, or an informed muggle, magic could be used freely as long as the bus wasn't running through. The occasional tourist was known to come through, but the charms on the shops made them look cold and uninviting to anyone who didn't know about magic, and they often left not long after arriving.

Harry loosened his grip a bit and continued his questioning. "Prongslet?

"Well, yes. If your father was Prongs, that would make you a Prongslet, would it not?"

"I suppose." He consented with a sigh that tickled Lupin's ear. "Where did you and my dad go to school?"

"A err… private boarding school in Scotland." Lupin replied truthfully, for Hogwarts _was_ a private school, just not in the usual muggle sense. After a couple minutes of companionable silence, Lupin remarked, "We're nearly there now, you can see it just around this bend." He pointed to a small, cozy house on top of a slight hill. There were five steps carved into the hillside leading to a path to the front door.

"Sorry, kiddo, but I have to put you down to go up the stairs. They're too steep to carry you up." Lupin swung Harry down, grabbing his hand instead. Harry looked at the stairs with doubt. "A bit big for you, aren't they?" Lupin asked wryly, for they came up past his knees. Harry merely nodded. "Tell you what; you jump up, and I'll pull you the rest of the way. It'll be a bit awkward, but it should work." Lupin stepped up to the first step and reached down for Harry's other hand. "Come now, jump." Harry jumped up and was swung up to the first step when he promptly started giggling. "Now what's so funny, mister?" Lupin mock-demanded.

"That was so cool!" he laughed. "It was like I was flying!" _'Figures James' son would like flying.'_ Remus snorted at his thoughts. "Hey!" Harry cried indignantly, "Why are you laughing?"

"You remind me so much of your father sometimes." Lupin hoisted Harry up the remaining steps in the same fashion; Harry giggling so contagiously, Lupin had to join in with his soft chuckle.

Still chuckling, Lupin led Harry up to the front door of his house. Carefully releasing his wand from its holster on his wrist, he silently cast two spells in quick succession. Cracking open the unlocked and de-warded door, Lupin cast another spell to freeze the visible pictures in their natural positions. He threw the door open the rest of the way and joked, "Were you going to stand there and admire the view all day, or do you want to come inside?"

Harry quickly spun around, flushing a scarlet that would make any Gryffindor proud. "I-It's very pretty here, sir."

Lupin, smiling kindly, replied, "It is beautiful, yes, I think that's why I moved here. And yet, sometimes, I'm in such a hurry I don't even stop to notice it. I've been looking for a job, you see. I actually had an interview earlier this morning, before I ran into- well, before _you_ ran into me." He suddenly realized that Harry, being six, probably had no interest in jobs and interviews, and bent down to take his hand instead. "I'll tell you more about it some other time, let's just go inside for now.

Pulling the door shut behind them, he said, "It's not much, really, just the five rooms and the garden out back. The kitchen, dining room, and washroom are really all the same…" He trailed off awkwardly.

"I think it's brilliant." He replied, then promptly yawned, exhausted by the day's events no doubt, though it was only just coming on noon. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm a bit tired. One of Dudley's friends spent the night, and they thought it was funny to take turns jumping on top of my cupboard most of the night." He explained.

"There's no need to apologize, Harry, it's quite alright. And what did I say about calling me 'sir'? It makes me feel old."

A spark of mischief flashed through the young boy's eyes, reminiscent of Lupin's own years of mischief making. "Sorry, 'Unca Mooey.'" He joked, making his name sound like a cow's moo, though the James-like effect was nearly lost when he looked up for approval.

Lupin roared with laughter, and Harry's mischievous smile returned full force. "You definitely are your father's son, no doubt about that! Why don't we put you in this room, you can take a nap if you wish." Harry nodded tiredly and Lupin opened the door on their right to reveal an average-sized bedroom decorated in shades of blue with accents of gold and bronze. There was a four-poster bed in the center of the room, a chest of drawers at the foot of the bed, and a night table with a lamp on the left side of the bed. The rest of the room was covered in books. There were books on the shelves that lined all the walls, books on the bed, the dresser, the nightstand, and even a few stacked neatly on the floor. "Sorry about all the books, I have a rather large collection. My room's the same way. It's almost all I ever get for my birthday and Christmas. Of course, I've bought a good portion of them for myself." He sighed good-naturedly. "It's amazing I've not had one repeated yet." He scooped all ten volumes of "The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night" by Richard F. Burton from the bed. "I wish I could find the original John Payne's, but they're quite rare." He said, staggering over to one of the shelves and setting them up out of Harry's reach. "So…erm…I have an errand to run, so you could… I mean, if you happen to wake up before I'm back, you could read some of the books, I suppose. I think some of the ones on the bottom shelf by the door are intended for younger readers." He looked over at the books in question and realized that, although intended for younger readers, they were most definitely not for someone Harry's age. "Actually, that might not be the best idea. Umm…I know! Hold on a second." He dashed out of the room and grabbed a manuscript off his desk. Back inside, he brandished the sheaf of papers triumphantly and said, "I'm translating a book of children's tales into English so I can publish it for young readers. I only have three done so far, but you can read them and tell me how they are, if you wish." He was planning on publishing a translated copy of _"The Tales of Beedle the Bard"_ under a pseudonym to try and earn some money. The only other version on the shelf was Beatrix Bloxam's _"The Toadstool Tales", _and that was so nauseatingly cute that most kids demanded for the book to be removed from their presence and burned, so he figured his would do well.

After placing the unfinished manuscript on the nightstand atop a teetering stack of Jane Austen's, he went over to the dresser and rummaged until he found an overly large t-shirt and tossed it to Harry. "Here's an old shirt you can kip in. The bathroom is that door to the right of the one we came in." Harry disappeared into the bathroom and came out a few moments later, the clothes he was wearing neatly folded. Lupin had to crack a smile at how silly the child looked; the t-shirt went down past his knees and elbows and hung in loose folds on his slight frame.

"What was my mum's name?" He asked, sleepily rubbing his eyes.

Lupin was, quite literally, burning with anger at Harry's aunt and uncle. '_He's treated poorly, underfed if his size is anything to go on, he's not allowed to ask questions, and he doesn't even know his own parent's names? How could Dumbledore justify leaving him with such people? Surely, if I was an unsuitable guardian, there was a wizarding family willing to take him in, I mean, he did save all their lives. As soon as Harry's asleep I'm going to have to talk with Dumbledore.' _

Lupin walked over to Harry and ruffled his hair, making him look more like James' than ever. "Lily, Harry. Your mother's name was Lily, and she was one of the kindest people imaginable. I'll let you rest now, and when you wake up I'll tell you all about your parents." Harry climbed into the bed and Lupin tucked the covers around him. After turning off the lights, he cast a monitoring charm to let him know when Harry woke up. He sent a patronus to Dumbledore, letting him know that he'd be at the gates of Hogwarts to discuss a matter of importance in five minutes.

Locking the door behind him, he disapparated with a loud _crack_ and landed neatly in front of The Three Broomsticks. By the time he arrived at the gates a few minutes later, Dumbledore was already waiting.

"Remus, my dear boy, welcome. You had something important to discuss?" He greeted Lupin warmly, a familiar twinkle in his eyes. "Would you like to come up to my office and discuss it over tea?"

"Yes, thank you." They walked in silence until they reached the statue. Dumbledore stated the password (sugar quills) and it slid aside, allowing them access to the revolving staircase. Once they were seated with their tea, Dumbledore indicated that he should begin. "It's about Harry Potter, sir." He stated bluntly. "He's at my house, napping. I don't think he's being treated right where you put him."

"Oh?" Dumbledore questioned, waiting for him to elaborate.

"No. He's much too small for his age and greatly underweight, he's not allowed to ask questions, he's been bullied to the point of a severely unhealthy inferiority complex, I think he might be abused, definitely neglected, and he didn't even know his own parent's names! Lily and James' son, Albus. After all they did for The Order, after all _he _did for The Order, you put him with a bunch of people who obviously hate him! I know his aunt smacks him, and if the bruise on his arm is anything to go by, he suffers much worse than that. How could you do this to an innocent child, Albus?" Lupin's eyes were damp when he concluded his rant and he rubbed them fiercely, not having intended to let his emotions run rampant.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "I knew Petunia was jealous of her sister, but I had hoped that she wouldn't take it out on Harry. Unfortunately, he must stay there, for his own protection."

"But surely, if I was unsuitable, there was another family willing to take him in?"

"Remus, my dear boy, you misunderstand me. I think you would have made an excellent guardian for young Harry. Yes, most excellent indeed." He repeated at Lupin's disbelieving look. "The reason he has to stay with his aunt is that his mother's blood flows through her." He gave Lupin a searching look, willing him to understand.

"What…? Oh! You used blood magic, didn't you?" Lupin queried, realization flooding through him. "I see, so as long as he calls that place home, he's protected. Brilliant, sir."

"Ah, so you know about it? I was hoping you would."

"Yes, I was studying blood magic just last month." He had been hoping that he might be able to find a way to cure his Lycanthropy through one of the old rituals. Of course, no one had ever been able to find a cure, but he had his theories about a couple of them. "Yes, very clever sir, and nearly infallible too. The thing is, though, I'm not sure that Harry calls that place 'home', so the charm can't be at full power. He was only too eager to come with me; he didn't give a second thought to that place. Surely, that makes him vulnerable?"

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Unfortunate as it is, he still calls it home, if only at a basic level. I would have known if it had broken all together. True, it does weaken the charm a bit, but there's still nothing more powerful than his mother's blood. As long as he spends two weeks there a year, he will be safe wherever he goes."

"His mother's blood…" Lupin mused. Suddenly, an idea hit him, in nearly the same manner as Harry himself had before. "Lily. She donated blood to me one day after a particularly violent full moon; in second year, remember? She was the only one who knew about my situation who had the same blood type, and I had already had too many potions. Any more would have reacted unfavorably. From then on, she donated blood whenever I needed it, which was almost every full moon. Wouldn't that count, Albus? Shouldn't it even be stronger since it's _her_ blood, and not just her sister's?

"Yes," Albus groaned, the happy twinkle gone from his eyes, "why didn't I think of that before? I was in such a hurry to protect him, I didn't even remember that she had given blood to you. It would be undoubtedly stronger."

"I don't blame you, Albus; I probably would have done the same. You've kept him safe for all these years, and that's what counts. Is it possible, then, to rework the charm around me? Or, I think Lily gave Severus some blood after a particularly volatile potion exploded, thanks to Sirius.

"Hush, child." He chastised, the twinkle back. "You are the only remaining person on Lily and James' will that they wished for Harry to go to, should anything happen to them. Mr. Black is in Azkaban, and the Longbottoms are in St. Mungos, so, naturally, none of them can take him."

"And Peter is dead." Lupin said bitterly, freshly reminded of his supposed friend's betrayal.

"Ah, yes. That was most unfortunate, however, Peter Pettigrew was never in their list of guardians for Harry. It was Mr. Black, you, and then the Longbottoms. They left no further instruction. I believe Mrs. Potter had a, ahem, falling out with Severus?"

"Yes, that she did. He called her a vile word, though I don't believe he meant it, and they had a terrible argument right in front of the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. But you can rework the charm, right?"

"Yes, I believe so, though you will need the Dursleys to transfer his guardianship to you. I will be sure that the papers go through the right people so that there are no inquiries. I will be there in," he looked at his watch, "about six hours. You will need to tell Harry that he is a wizard before that time, it will make the charm stronger if he is willing. And, if I'm not mistaken, it is young Mister Potter's birthday today?" Lupin nodded and Dumbledore walked off with a quick, "Excuse me for a moment." He came back after a few minutes, carrying a bundle of fabric with a bit of old parchment on top.

"James' invisibility cloak! And The Marauder's Map! I would've sworn Filch had burned it-" Lupin abruptly cut off, looking sheepish.

Dumbledore chuckled, "I take it you know what these are then. I would like for you to give these to Harry. It would be most lamentable if the son of one of the Marauders never found any of Hogwarts secret passageways."

Lupin looked at him, disbelief etched in his face, before slowly reaching out and taking the bundle. When he didn't snatch it back and yell 'Just kidding!', as he fully expected him to do, Lupin secured the bundle more firmly in his arms and said, "Thank you, sir. I'm sure Harry will be very pleased to have something from his father."

Dumbledore merely nodded and waved his hand, snatching a thin packet of papers from thin air in the process. "These are the guardianship forms, they have to sign the third page and you the last. The other four are just legal drivel. They reside at #4 Privet Drive, Surrey. I wish you luck."

Taking this as a dismissal, Lupin turned around and left after thanking him one last time. As soon as he crossed the apparition barrier, he turned on the spot and disappeared, finding himself in the bushes behind #4 Privet Drive. He knew he oughtn't have apparated directly into the muggle town, but he wasn't planning on letting his mission known to the Ministry. Tucking the parcels into his cloak, he straightened himself up and walked to the front door, rapping on it rather harder than necessary.

A rather horsey looking woman opened the door, and upon realizing she didn't know him, said, "We don't want whatever you're selling, goodbye.", and made to slam the door.

Lupin hastily slid his foot inside to stop it from closing, wincing a bit when it hit him. "Ah, but I'm not selling anything. I'm here about Harry Potter." He said casually.

The woman opened the door again and replied shakily, "There is no Harry Potter here. I don't know _what_ you're talking about."

"Oh, I believe you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. You see, Harry is currently napping at my house, and he told me all about how you treat him." It was only a slight fib- he _did_ know how Harry was treated, to an extent, but he had deduced it for himself.

"Don't believe a word he says!" She nearly shrieked, "He's a malicious little liar, intent on breaking up our family!"

"Why don't we take this inside, or do you wish for the neighbors to hear the rest of this conversation?" She took a quick look around to see all her neighbors peering out of cracked windows. Flushing angrily, she opened the door the rest of the way to allow him entrance.

After firmly closing the door behind her and slamming all the windows she hissed, "The little brat didn't even come back to make us lunch."

Lupin shook his head sadly, "It's shameful, really, treating your own flesh and blood like a common servant."

"How dare you!" Her voice escalated, "Who are you to tell us how to treat the boy?"

Lupin smiled, happy that she'd finally gotten to the point of the conversation. "Me? I'm merely one of Lily and James' best friends, concerned for the safety of their little boy. I'm here to gain Harry's guardianship from you, nothing more, nothing less."

The woman froze in shock. "You! You're one of _her_ lot! Get out of my house!" She suddenly started shoving him towards the door without much success.

"Now that's not very polite." He replied lightly, as if commenting on the weather, and steered her to the couch. "All you have to do is sign here, and we'll never bother you or your family again." She pursed her lips tightly, but snatched the forms out of his hands. Stiffly signing it with the proffered quill, she shoved the forms back at him and motioned for him to leave.

Before he could even move, not that he was going to- he still needed the husband's signature, the door was flung open and a large, vaguely-familiar man walked through. Upon spying Lupin, he pointed a meaty finger at him and sputtered, "Y-You! You didn't get the job, you know. I just called your house to tell you. There's no need to pester my family about it, you just weren't qualified enough."

"Qualified?" Lupin snorted. "You just didn't like me, it had nothing to do with my qualifications. Anyways, I'm not here about your stupid job." Mr. Dursley opened his mouth to say that the job was in no way stupid, but quickly closed it again when he found Lupin's wand pointed between his eyes. "I'm here to gain guardianship over Harry Potter. You will sign those papers," he said, nodding at the stack of papers still on the table, "and I will leave without any trouble. If you refuse to sign, I will be forced to bring more people into this, and I don't think you want that." Mr. Dursley squeaked out something that sounded like 'mimble-wimble' and shakily signed the papers. "Very good. Now, I will just take Harry's things and be on my way." He _accio'd _Harry's items and was disappointed at the few things came flying towards him. He deftly caught them and sorted through them to find a shirt and a pair of pants that seemed much too big for him, a blue and gold shooter marble, and a battered old blanket. He shook his head disapprovingly at them and disapparated right from their living room.

Arriving squarely on his doorstep, Lupin stepped inside and set all the stuff on the table. The cloak and the map he neatly wrapped in the morning's copy of 'The Daily Prophet'. The headline at the top of the parcel showed a beaming Gilderoy Lockhart, celebrating the release of his latest adventure. Lupin grimaced at the man he knew to be a fraud and transfigured the wrappings into a shiny, green paper. The clothes he transfigured into a red shirt with a gold lion on it and a pair of blue jean shorts and laid the set on the edge of Harry's bed. The blanket he quickly cleaned and mended, placing it next to the clothes, while the marble he pocketed to give to him later. Seeing as Harry was still soundly asleep, he went to get him one last present. Scooping up small rocks as he walked, he made his way to his friend Elizabeth's house. She had been in his year at Hogwarts, a Ravenclaw, and she knew about his 'furry little problem'. They had become friends during their seventh year, studying for their N.E.W.T.s together when Lily and James were too distracted by each other to pay any attention to their friends. She was now the head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry, and bred kneazles as a hobby.

"Hello, Lizzy, how are you?" He greeted her warmly as she opened the door to let him in.

"Hi, Remus! What brings you here today? You're not sick, are you?" She asked, scrutinizing him for any signs of illness. "Full moon's not for two weeks." Elizabeth was an accomplished potions maker, and one of the few skilled enough to create the Wolfsbane potion for him every month.

"Must I be sick to come visit an old friend?" he joked as they sat down on her couch. "No, I'm here about your last litter of kittens. Weren't they born about six weeks ago?" Lupin remembered that there had been a new litter of kittens two moons ago.

"Why, yes. Misty had a litter. I didn't realize you were interested in owning a cat, I would have given you one ages ago." She replied, confused at his sudden interest.

"Well, I never was, to be truthful, but I just received guardianship over one of my best friend's son, and I remembered how fond he was of their old cat. I'd like to get him one, if that's alright, for his birthday."  
"Yes, of course!" she smiled brightly, grabbing a basket and filling it with all the supplies needed to take care of a cat. "You said you gained guardianship over him? How old is he? What's his name?"

"Harry's six, Elizabeth. His birthday's today."

"Harry…?"

"Potter. Harry Potter, Lily and James' son."

Lizzy gasped and dropped her basket. "You're the guardian of The-Boy-Who-Lived? Rem, that's incredible!"

"He's just a six-year-old boy, Liz. Nothing more, nothing less. He doesn't know he defeated the darkest wizard of our time. Merlin, he barely knew about his parents! His previous guardians treated him like a house elf. You can come over if you want, Liz, but please don't gawk at him. He's just a poor, mistreated, little boy."

Elizabeth nodded, then said, "Why don't I invite Kate and Taylor too? I believe Westley is Harry's age. I'll bring some cake and we can have a proper party." Katelyn and Taylor were her twin sister and brother-in-law, respectively. Westley was their son.

Lupin hesitated for a second, then agreed. "Sounds great. When can I expect you?" Though calm on the outside, he was secretly jumping for joy- he had liked Elizabeth since the beginning of seventh year, but always knew he couldn't be with her because he couldn't bear to tell her about his lycanthropy. Once she figured it out herself, and didn't seem to mind, he couldn't help but hope that she might feel the same way. Only problem was, he just couldn't work up that infamous Gryffindor courage to ask her.

"I'll be there around two. What are you going to cook?"

"Cook…?"

"Yes, yes, it's a birthday party, you have to cook." She replied impatiently.

"Erm, I didn't really think about that. I think I have some leftover chicken in the fridge…"

Elizabeth muttered something about incompetent men and stalked over to the fire. She grabbed some floo powder from the pot on the mantle and shouted "Kate's Place!" before sticking her head in. She conversed with the person at the other end, presumably Kate or Taylor, for a few minutes, then jerked her head back out. "They'll be there at two as well. Kate's baking a cake, and Taylor will bring stuff for burgers. He can transfigure something into a grill, I'm sure."

Lupin grinned sheepishly and thanked her. As he prepared to leave she called out, "Hey Rem, aren't you forgetting something? Like, maybe, a cat?"

"Oh, I figured you'd like to give it to him, since they're kind of your thing. I'll just transfigure some stones into a set of marbles to match his shooter."

"Oh no, I have something else to give him." She grinned wickedly. "Kate and I were just discussing it. It'll be from the three of us." She walked into her room and brought out a tiny, mewling, black kitten. She dropped it unceremoniously in the basket and shoved the whole thing at him. "Here, have a cat. Enjoy." And shoved him out the door.

"Thanks Liz, you're the best!" He said, just before she slammed the door.

"Yea, yea. You owe me one, Rem."

If any of you are interested, I've started a blog to contain pictures and information about this story and any others I may write in the future, the link is on my profile. Currently, there are character bios of Kate, Taylor, and Elizabeth, my three new characters who may or may not become essential to the plot line…. Please review guys; it really does make my day/week/month/year/lifetime. It doesn't have to be long (though those are brilliant), just give me an honest opinion, even if it's just an 'update soon' or even a 'try harder next chapter' either one works, honest. Thank you everyone! ~Nym


	3. AN Hiatus

Hello everyone! I'm sorry this isn't a chapter, but I wanted to get your opinions on a few matters. It probably won't affect what I'm planning, but I want to see what you guys think. I'm currently ordering a part for my computer, and when it comes in, I can get to typing the next chapter. (It's about halfway done handwritten.) I have a furry little problem as well, but this time, it actually _is _a badly behaved rabbit... Her name is Snuffles and my cat's name is Crookshanks (Crookies for short.) Yes, I _am _unnaturally obssessed with Harry Potter, thanks for asking. So much so, in fact, that I know Tom Felton's (who play's Draco Malfoy, in case you didn't know) birthday is coming up in exactly two weeks, September the 22nd (which just so happens to also be _my_ birthday, so I'll be celebrating most of that week... It's my sixteenth, what can I say?) I'm back in school now, so I have days when I can write a lot, and days when I can't write any, so my updates may be sporadic, but I'm not abondoning it! Okay, so here are my questions:

1. What house do you think Harry should get sorted in? (I'm leaning towards Ravenclaw or Gryffindor like cannon.)

2. What should the pairing be, if and when I decide to have one? (No slash, I'm leaning towards Luna)

3. Do you guys want to see me continue this into Hogwarts years? (I really want to, but if you think it's overkill- well, I'd still continue writing...)

4. Should I switch viewpoints between Harry and Lupin often, or only occasionally? Or not at all? When Harry goes to Hogwarts, of course, it would be his viewpoint. (In short, do you want to hear the inner thought processes of a six year old, or stick with the twenty-six year old until Harry is more mature.)

I want to thank all the reviewers again, you guys brighten my day considerably! Remember, if you leave a question in a review, I will answer it, although your answer may be cryptic if it would reveal the plot too much. Also- concrit. I love it. Flames, not so much, but constructive criticism is awesome. I trust you guys know the difference? Back to reviews- I reply to ALL of them, if I mysteriously forget to, you have permission to flog me with a wet noodle (unless of course, you turned of PMs, there's not much I can do about that.) If you guys want to read more about the story, you can check out my blog which is accessible through my profile page. It has currently has character bios for Elizabeth Behrend and Katelyn and Taylor Linder. In the future, there will be maps, diagrams, pictures, blueprints, and maybe even some photos. I'll probably have a picture of Kates animagus form up soon, since it looks mysteriously like my dear Crookshanks... I may even put pictures of the story in it's handwritten glory. Would you guys be interested in seeing what that looks like? Thanks to all who have been reading and (especially) reviewing!~ Nym Potter


	4. Chapter 3

**I'm so so so ridiculously sorry that I haven't posted in an obscene amount of time. I've been so super busy since the last time I posted, and if you really want, I can send you the list of exactly what I've been doing. Now that it's the summer, and I'm officially a junior, I'm going to try and keep a regular update schedule and also attempt to write far enough ahead so that I can continue posting through the torture that is the junior year in the I.B. program. I can't believe it's been, like, nine months since I've posted. I'm thoroughly ashamed of myself, I assure you. To make up for it, however, I also started a new story, which should debut pretty soon. It's not one I've written in my profile though, so hopefully you guys like it :) I have a tumblr, which you can find the link for on my profile, which has information on my stories. I also have a personal tumblr, so if for some random reason you want to follow me there, feel free! :) For any of you who looked at my blog on blogspot, I'm sorry, but I deleted it. I decided tumblr was much easier to work with. It has the same info though! Again, I'm superbly sorry about the hiatus. ~Nym**

_Disclaimer: I do not- in any way, shape, or form- own Harry Potter. Unlike the lovely Ms. Rowling, I currently have a dollar to my name. Although…that dollar _is _sitting in a Coach handbag. I do, however, own a cat named Crookshanks, a rabbit named Snuffles, and an obscene amount of Potter merch ^^_

Lupin hurried back to his house to wake Harry. He had a lot to explain, and only twenty-five minutes in which to do so. Just as he was stepping up to the front door, the monitoring alarm went off, making a buzzer-type noise in his head. 'Oh good, Harry's just getting up. Perfect timing.' Lupin smiled. He quickly canceled the monitoring charm and walked into Harry's room, setting the basket just outside the door in the process. Harry was sitting up and stretching, a yawn forming on his lips. "Hello, Harry. Did you sleep well?" Harry's calm, peaceful expression suddenly morphed into one of fearful repentance.

"Oh no!" he cried, "I'm s-sorry sir, I slept t-too long and I d-d-didn't have time to re-read your st-stories! It w-won't h-h-happen again s-sir, I p-promise! P-p-please d-don't h-hurt m-m-m-me…." He trailed off fearfully, his pleas becoming nearly illegible with his stutters.

'Just how badly did they treat him there, to make him fall apart like this at the slightest provocation?' Lupin resolved to find out just how bad the situation was as soon as he could, so he could make sure Harry knew he never had to be worried about that again. "Whoa Harry, settle down. It's alright, you didn't have to read it, I only brought it to you so you could look at them if you woke up before I finished my errands." Lupin comforted as he sat at Harry's feet. "I'm glad you got some rest, you looked like you needed it. First things first, I hope I'm right in assuming you didn't want to remain with your aunt and uncle?" Harry nodded earnestly. "Excellent, because I've spoken with Professor Dumbledore and your aunt and uncle and I've had your guardianship transferred to me. Of course, you wouldn't remember Professor Dumbledore; you met him when you were only a baby. Harry, I've got to tell you something." He suddenly blurted out, looking anxious. "Harry, you're…well…you're a wizard, Harry."

"I'm a what?" He asked, looking entirely bemused.

"A wizard. I am too, and so were your parents. The private school we went to was a school for witches and wizards."

"But-but I can't be a-a wizard. I-I'm just Harry! Just Harry."

"Ah, but you are a wizard, Harry. I can see you don't believe me, but here- I'll prove it to you." Lupin unsheathed his wand and conjured up a blue plastic glass, filling it up with water. He handed the glass to Harry who just stared at it with awe. "In five years, you'll be able to do all that and more. But we can discuss that later, we have to get you ready for your birthday party."

"Birthday party?" Harry asked as if he'd never heard the words before.

"Well, yes. It is your birthday after all. It's nothing big, just a friend of mine, her sister and brother-in-law and their son- who I believe is around your age."

"But, I've never had a party before. The one year I asked about one, Uncle Vernon told me that freaks like me don't deserve parties. He said that maybe if I was normal like Dudley, I would deserve one." Harry suddenly burst into heart-wrenching tears. They flooded down his face in great streams, and his small body quaked with the force of his sobs, but he was perfectly quiet. Not a sound escaped him except for the occasional small sniffle. This was even more heartbreaking than the Dursley's words, for he knew that it had to be their fault that he cried so quietly. Lupin immediately scooted towards him and pulled him close, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

"Harry, it's all right Prongslet. It's your relatives that are the freaks, not you. They were horrid people, and they didn't deserve to have such a wonderful kid as you. You'll never have to go back to there, I swear to it."

He slowly calmed down, his sobs going from violent shakes to soft tremors until they finally stopped altogether. His eyes were red and puffy, but there was a small, hopeful smile growing on his face. "R-really?"

"Really. Now, how about you take a bath before everyone arrives, it'll make you feel better." Lupin went into the bathroom and ran the tap. He handed Harry the transfigured set of clothes and showed him where the soap and shampoo were. "Toss me your clothes before you get in and I can transfigure them for you as well."

Moments later, the door cracked open and a neatly folded stack was pushed out. He picked them up and examined the pile, looking at the boxers in disdain. Although he hadn't been forced to wear his cousin's castoffs in this particular item, it seemed as though the Dursleys had bought a package of underwear that were several sizes too big for him and just let him use those for a few years. It looked like they had once been grey, but they were so faded and bleached they were mostly white. The edges were frayed, and the elastic had broken and was being used as a tie. Lupin performed a series of several transfigurations, and when he was finished the elastic was fixed, they were shrunk to a suitable size, and were a pale bluish-white. The oversized shirt he transfigured into a blue and gold striped jumper, while the clothes Lupin found Harry in were now nice blue jeans and a green t-shirt. He pushed the boxers back under the door, and pulled the last two oversized t-shirts from his drawer. After transfiguring them into a set of Gryffindor pajamas- red and gold plaid flannel bottoms and a soft red t-shirt with the house crest on the front- he put those and all the other clothes into the drawer, making a mental note to get him some proper clothes before his various charms and transfigurations expired. Clothes were the only things that an accomplished wizard couldn't permanently transfigure, aside from the exclusions in Gamp's Law of course.

Lupin dumped the pebbles he had collected out on the bed along with the shooter marble. He carefully transfigured the pebbles to match the shooter until he had a full set of marbles. He then transformed a scrap of cloth into a black velvet drawstring pouch, and scooped the marbles into it. Harry came out of the bathroom looking like a true Gryffindor in his new outfit and his hair dripping all over the floor. Lupin flicked his wand and a gust of warm air blew it dry. Harry looked shocked and his hand flew up to feel his hair. Upon finding it perfectly dry, he exclaimed, "How did you do that?"

Lupin grinned and twirled his wand, "Magic, remember? Come here, I want to check your vision." He patted the bed beside him. "I used to have to do this all the time for your father, he was always needing a new prescription. 'Scriptus Revealio'" He said, pointing the wand between Harry's eyes, the boy in question going cross-eyed. A scroll of paper materialized out of his wand, and Lupin glanced at it and frowned slightly. "Mmmm, yes. You do need a set of glasses. Hold on a moment, I'll be right back." Lupin went into his room and pulled his old trunk out from under the bed. After rummaging for a moment, he pulled a slim pouch from its depths and, after putting the trunk back neatly, took it to Harry.

"Your father gave me these when I told him I wanted to practice changing the script on glasses for extra credit in transfiguration. They were his when he was your age; I think he would have wanted you to have them." Lupin changed the prescription to fit Harry's vision and handed them to him. Harry put them on and blinked, surprised. "Better?" Harry nodded. "Good. Now, shall we open your first present?"

"Present?"

"Why yes-of course. It _is_ your birthday after all. Come on!"

**Okay, I know this is kind of short, and I originally intended it to be much longer and encompass the birthday party, but I wanted to get this out quickly before any more time passed, so I decided to end it here at about 3 and a half pages. I am swamped with summer homework, but I plan on having the birthday party out before too long. I'd like to thank all of those people who answered my questions; it's lovely to know how all of you think, even if I'm not necessarily going to choose your suggestions. I apologize for not replying to any of those reviews, but I'm going to be right back to responding to everything from now on. I'd also like to thank all of you that have stuck with me through this hiatus, and to welcome any new readers. I hope you enjoyed it so far! As a little gift of apology, here's a sneak peek of the next chapter! Until next time! ~Nym**

**All in all, there were nineteen people grinning on his doorstep.**

"**Not to be rude or anything, but what are you all doing here?" Lupin asked mildly.**


End file.
